Jitendra Nath Banerjee

Review: Rgyan-Drug Mchog-Gnyis

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The review evaluates Rgyan‑Drug Mchog‑Gnyis, a publication of the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. The book reproduces five colour plates of 17th‑century Tibetan thanka paintings depicting the Buddha…

Myths explaining some alien traits of the North-Indian Sun-icons

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

This article investigates the presence of non-Indian iconographic features in early north Indian images of the sun god. The author notes that many surviving Surya sculptures from the early centuries…

Srimad Bhagavata—Place of its Origin

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

This article examines linguistic, architectural and cultural evidence to argue that the Bhagavata Purana was composed in South India, likely in the Tamil‑speaking Pandya country. The author notes…

Schools of Buddhism in Early Indian Inscriptions

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

Early Buddhist inscriptions rarely identify the sectarian affiliation of the monks who donated or attended rituals. This paper examines rock‑cut and pillar inscriptions from around the first century…

Devices on some Tribal Coins

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The article addresses the symbols found on tribal coins of ancient India and critiques the conjectural explanations offered by earlier scholars. The author notes that many symbols—such as the female…

Śiva and his Emblems on Early Indian Coins and Seals

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The study of symbols on early Indian coins and seals reveals connections to religious practices and deities, particularly Shiva. Scholars suggest symbols like mountain motifs (three-, five-, or…

Identification of Some Ancient Indian Place-Names

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The text examines the identification of ancient Indian place-names, focusing on Devasabha, Indrapura, and related regions. Rajasekhara’s *Kavyamimamsa* describes five divisions of India, including…

Indian Elements in Coin Devices of foreign Rulers of India

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The paper examines how foreign dynasties that ruled parts of India—Indo‑Bactrian Greeks, Sakas, Pahlavas and Kushans—included Indian motifs in their coinage. Initially these rulers used devices from…

Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

Two New Varieties of Old Indian Coins

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

Ancient Gita Commentaries

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

This article reviews and expands upon N. Krishnamurti Sharma’s paper on Bhaskara, a little‑known commentator on the Bhagavad Gita. Scholarly attention has long focused on Sankara’s Advaita…

A Gandhara Relief in the Indian Museum

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

This article describes and interprets a fragmentary relief from Gandhara (now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta) that illustrates a scene of abduction. Carved in black slate and measuring approximately…

Reviews

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The review section opens with an assessment of H. R. Rangaswamy Iyengar’s edition of Dignāga’s Pramāṇasamuccaya, an important text of Buddhist logic. The reviewer summarises Dignāga’s role as the…

The “Webbed Fingers” of Buddha

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

This brief note examines a curious iconographic feature attributed to the Buddha: the webbing between his fingers described in certain textual sources. Drawing on passages from the Lalitavistara and…

Usnisa-siraskata in early Buddha images of India

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

Focusing on one of the thirty‑two marks of a mahāpuruṣa, this study investigates how the usnisa‑siraskatā – a cranial protuberance or hair knot on the Buddha’s head – was understood and represented…

The "Webbed Fingers" of Buddha

By Jitendra Nath Banerjee

The article examines the depiction of Buddha’s “webbed fingers,” one of the 12 physical signs marking a great man in Buddhist tradition. These signs, rooted in mythological origins, are documented in…